NAIROBI - The wave of insecurity that has hit Kenya in the last few months is causing severe damage to
the country’s recovering economy due to a loss in investor confidence, local economists have
warned.

According to Stanbic Investment Management Service investment analyst, Abdi Mohammed,
while the real extent of the damage has yet to be quantified, key sectors are losing money
due to unprecedented levels of insecurity.

Mohammed’s concerns are echoed by Johnson Nderi, researcher for Corporate Finance at
Suntra Investment Bank in Nairobi, who estimates the cost to the country’s economy at
millions of dollars each month.

Over the past year, the country has witnessed a spate of terror-related attacks on civilians,
blamed mostly on Somalia’s Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab.

These attacks have prompted travel advisories from nations such as the United Kingdom and
the United States, which have urged their citizens to keep away from this East African nation.
/IPS (END//2012)